New police chief appointed for Missouri City

Zach Haverkamp

Published 9:26 am, Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Photo: Photo Courtesy Missouri City

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Missouri City Council with Police Chief Mike Berezin soon their vote to appoint him to the position at their July 7 meeting. (Left-right:) Councilmembers Chris Preston, Jerry Wyatt and Floyd Emery, Berezin, Councilmembers Yolanda Ford, Robin Elackatt, Don Smith and Mayor Allen Owen. less

Missouri City Council with Police Chief Mike Berezin soon their vote to appoint him to the position at their July 7 meeting. (Left-right:) Councilmembers Chris Preston, Jerry Wyatt and Floyd Emery, Berezin, ... more

Photo: Photo Courtesy Missouri City

New police chief appointed for Missouri City

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For the final vote during of its meeting on Monday, July 7, Missouri City Council installed longtime Missouri City Police Department member Mike Berezin as the city’s new chief of police, who will be formally sworn in Wednesday, July 9, at the Public Safety Headquarters.

Berezin has been serving as interim chief of police since January, when previous Chief Joel Fitzgerald left resigned the position to serve as the head of the police department in his hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Before Fitzgerald’s departure, Berezin served as assistant chief position since 2011 and was in command of the Patrol and Criminal Investigation Divisions.

“It’s a great honor and a privilege to continue my service to the city of Missouri City as the chief of police,” Berezin said after council’s unanimous vote. “City council has always been supportive of this department, and I look forward to many more years of that continued support.”

Berezin began his career with the department in January 1989 as a patrol officer, and was honored as “Officer of the Year” by the Fort Bend County 100 Club the following year - an award he also received in 2001 from the 100 Club of Greater Houston. He then became a public safety officer, receiving cross-training in law enforcement and firefighting, and also served as a field training officer, detective, crime scene investigator, patrol sergeant, patrol shift lieutenant and captain of the patrol division. In that position, he oversaw the department’s community outreach program, in which supervisors attend homeowners’ association meetings to collaborate with residents on crime prevention.

“Actually, I did hit every rung of the ladder,” Berezin said.

Berezin is a graduate of the Leadership Command College at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, and of the 236th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. City Manager Edward Broussard call it ‘an honor’ to work alongside an officer who’s show dedication to both the Missouri City Department and the community in its entirety.

“Chief Berezin’s dedication to the safety of Missouri City residents has never wavered throughout his more than 25 years in the department,” Broussard said. “It is inspiring to see someone as passionate as him continue to grow amongst such a wide diversity of city growth, leadership, partnerships and technology.”

In brief remarks to council following their vote, Berezin thanked police Missouri City’s public administration and citizens for showing continual support for its law enforcement.

“I consider it an honor to work for this fine group here,” Berezin said, “not just the group that’s sitting here now, but the group that’s always been represented up here has always been supportive of the police department.”